West Belfast MP Paul Maskey has hit out at a new Carslberg ad that features the peace wall at Townsend Street.

The advert, titled Carlsberg Border Football, shows people on both sides of the divide in three formerly war-torn societies – Belfast, Nicosia and Kosovo being brought together through football, and subsequently sharing a beer.

In Belfast, the peace walls are shown before the game kicks off at Townsend Street between the Falls and the Shankill.

In the end, both parties in the three countries share a beer, rolling bottles to each other under the interface gates as the words “Using the magic of football to bring people closer” flash up on the screen before the expected beer company mott – “That calls for a Carlsberg”.

The video has been viewed over 70,000 times on YouTube with people leaving their comments below.

The vast majority welcome the sentiment of the advert, but with some querying its use of former battlegrounds to promote alcohol. West Belfast MP Paul Maskey was less than impressed with it and told the Andersonstown News it only shows a negative side of the city.

“It’s a poor advert and to equate Belfast to Kosovo is a very strange move to me,” he said.

Also, this is an advertisement for alcohol, not good relations, and we are shown people drinking on the street, something people in this city are trying hard to combat.

“I think it’s poor overall and it would have been more beneficial to show the good work of the city across borders rather than showing people sharing alcohol.

“We are trying to attract visitors to this city and adverts like this going out around the world only show a negative aspect of the city.”